Calhoun County vs. Florida Comparative Trends Analysis: Population Growth and Change, 1969-2022 Introduction Calhoun County: 2022 Population = 13,464 2022 Percent of State = 0.06% Florida: 2022 Population = 22,244,823 2022 Percent of U.S. = 6.67% Attracting and retaining people to live, work, raise a family, and retire underlies the economic vitality of any region. Population growth is both a cause--and a consequence--of economic growth. Patterns of population growth and change reflect differences among regions to attract and retain people both as producers and consumers in their economy. The following graphs offer a broad overview of trends in the pattern of population growth and change of Calhoun County with comparisons to Florida and the nation at large. This analysis features alternative approaches toward discussing, diagnosing and comparing Calhoun County vs. Florida's population growth over 1969-2022. The data used are those compiled by the Regional Income and Product Divisions of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 1. Figure 1 traces Calhoun County's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Calhoun County's population rose from 7,657 in 1969 to 13,464 in 2022, for a net gain of 5,807, or 75.84%. NOTE: The county and state population totals reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are from the Bureau of Census midyear (July 1) estimates. These estimates may differ from those prepared independently in some states by various agencies and/or universities. Population, 1969-2022 Figure 2. Figure 2 traces Florida's annual population for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate population patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Florida's population rose from 6,641,000 in 1969 to 22,244,823 in 2022, for a net gain of 15,603,823, or 234.96%. NOTE: The county and state population totals reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are from the Bureau of Census midyear (July 1) estimates. These estimates may differ from those prepared independently in some states by various agencies and/or universities. Population Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022 Figure 3. Figure 3 portrays Calhoun County's population growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Florida, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's population in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the populations in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in population growth between regions that may differ vastly in size. Calhoun County's overall population growth was 75.84% over 1969-2022 trailed Florida's increase of 234.96%, and topped the United States' increase of 65.57%. Population as a Percent of the Florida Total: 1969-2022 Figure 4. Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the population growth of Calhoun County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Florida's statewide population over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's population grew faster, or declined less, than Florida's population, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly. In 1969, Calhoun County's population comprised 0.12% of Florida's population, while in 2022 it equated to 0.06% thereby yielding a -0.05% share-shift.
Calhoun County Population: Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022 Figure 5. Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Calhoun County's population growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average. On average, Calhoun County's population grew at an annual rate of 1.09% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1989 (6.38%) and posted its lowest growth in 2019 (-3.41%). In 2022, Calhoun County's population declined by -0.37% Calhoun County Population: Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022 Figure 6. Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again traces the annual percent change in Calhoun County's population since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022. During the 1970s, Calhoun County's annual population growth rate averaged 1.75%. It averaged 1.89% throughout the 1980s, 1.59% in the 1990s, 1.40% throughout the 2000s, -0.67% throughout the 2010s, -0.64% thus far this decade (2020-2022). Population Growth: Average Annual Percent Change by Decade Figure 7. Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Calhoun County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Florida and the nation. As the chart reveals, Calhoun County's average annual population growth recorded under Florida's average throughout the 1970s (1.75% vs. 3.62%), lagged Florida's average during the 1980s (1.89% vs. 2.93%), trailed Florida's average throughout the 1990s (1.59% vs. 2.23%), trailed Florida's average in the 2000s (1.40% vs. 1.70%), trailed Florida's average during the 2010s (-0.67% vs. 1.36%), and fell below Florida's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.64% vs. 1.37%). Finally, relative to nationwide population growth trends, Calhoun County outgained the nation during the 1970s (1.75% vs. 1.10%), outgained the nation during the 1980s (1.89% vs. 0.95%), topped the nation over the 1990s (1.59% vs. 1.23%), outpaced the nation throughout the 2000s (1.40% vs. 0.95%), lagged the nation throughout the 2010s (-0.67% vs. 0.74%), and posted below the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.64% vs. 0.31%).
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